Critical infrastructure is getting smarter. Electric grids and oil platforms are leveraging IP connectivity, cellular and wireless sensor networks, commercial off-the-shelf software and open protocols to improve efficiency, cut costs and drive productivity. The invasion of information technologies (IT) into underlying industrial control systems (ICS) is well underway and the undisputed reign of operational technologies (OT) is at an end.  The relationship between the two systems would ideally be convergent; yet at the moment, it is all but symbiotic. The threshold of acceptable loss is widely disparate. IT can accommodate delays, interruptions, recovery through rebooting; for OT, delays and system crashes are unacceptable, pen testing is disruptive at best.  It is difficult to apply traditional IT security notions to legacy control systems; yet the requirements are exactly the same: availability, confidentiality, integrity.  This conflict is driving the growth of a niche, emergent market in OT security. While the issues have been publicly (if somewhat obscurely) debated for over a decade, the slow, but determined changeover to smart ICS is prompting a growing interest in those vendors that can offer dedicated security for OT.

AT&T announces a heavy-handed imposition of an arbitrary 61¢ fee per user and sets the twitterati ablaze.   Megabits of commentary angst like “worst outcome” “destroy net neutrality” “punish their customer” have been spilled over this. 

The Internet is a singular force majeure.  Fuelled by dynamic technological advances and a growing number of connected people and machines, it has created a rich digital environment. However this same growth has also intensified the opportunities for malicious exploit. The Internet’s borderless nature has inevitably facilitated the emergence of advanced threats.

NVIDIA announced the final specs and retail pricing for its SHIELD portable Android-based (“pure” Jelly Bean) console.  The device will sport a quad core Tegra 4 (1.9 GHz) processor with 2GB RAM and 16GB Flash memory (microSD up to 64GB supported).  It will include a range of connectivity features including: 802.11n 2x2 MIMO, Bluetooth 3.0 (unfortunately not 4.0), mini-HDMI output, and micro-USB 2.0.  The device will also include other common features found on mobile devices like GPS, 3 Axis Gyro and Accelerometer.  The main feature of the SHIELD however is its dedicated “console grade” controller along with its “Retinal 5” 720p display.”  Reportedly NVIDIA will offer Android updates in a timely fashion, a boon for those users who have tasted the foulness of stale Android “desserts” because their device was ineligible for upgrades.

After the release of the Samsung Galaxy S4 two weeks ago in the United Kingdom, Europe, and some areas of the United States - without distribution problems, we are now beginning to see the full proliferation of "phablet" (smartphone screen size of 5 inches and greater) devices. Rewind just over 18 months ago, to the release of the Samsung Galaxy Note I, the device type was considered a freak, a one off phenomenon that no other mobile OEM would consider releasing. At best, the gigantic smartphone was a niche product that would only be popular with a small number of people. It is anticipated that most of the top mobile OEMs, except Apple, will have a phablet device available in their smartphone portfolio this year. ABI Research projects more than 150 million phablets will be shipped in 2013.

Operators and Content Providers should work together and bring two-sided business models to market.  This will increase the overall allocation of resources to the most profitable use.   

In March 2013, Vietnam's large telecom company, CMC Telecom, and cable TV service provider, VTCV, announced plans to provide cable broadband service in Vietnam starting from August 2013.

Press accounts provide drama on the power struggle between Verizon and Vodafone over the fate of their JV money printing machine, Verizon Wireless.   Negotiations must be underway in the smoke filled back rooms, but it is exciting to have the “leaks” in the industry press provide the melodrama.  It will be fun to watch how this plays.